#212
Last week, I read a wonderful Amar Chitra Katha comic on Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam. Here are the key takeaways he had at different stages in his life, and was influenced by various people, who helped shape his life values:
From childhood itself, he kept asking a lot of questions based on what he observed, like - “Why do birds fly”? (This one question fascinated him the most and was what led to him enrolling in Aeronautical engineering in MIT)
He had an immense desire for knowledge and respect
An incident in school where the teacher brought in divide but the students’ parents fostered unity led to all faiths and religions becoming one in his mind
He learnt to earn on the side at a young age by selling newspapers at 6 AM, before school. He worked after school too while his friends spent time playing games
At home, his brother-in-law Jamal encouraged him to learn and answered all his questions patiently while at school and university, he had teachers who pushed him to excel by setting supposedly impossible deadlines
He met a monk in Rishikesh who helped him gain peace - this was reassuring when he grappled with failures of his rocket launches
When a friend saved his life from an explosion, he promised himself he would make his life worthy of being saved
He got the opportunity to meet Dr. Vikram Sarabhai at NASA but it was Prof. Sathish Dhawan (Project Director after Dr. Sarabhai passed away) who showed what it means to be a true leader by taking the blame on himself when the team failed but giving Kalam the entire credit for successes
When Dr. Kalam led a team later in life, he learnt about establishing trust and enabling teamwork
Being a lifelong learner, he lived his childhood dream much later in life of learning to fly an aircraft - and at 74, he was the oldest Indian to fly one
A child at heart
An ordinary man even after being elected the President of India - he once swapped a royal chair, the ‘throne’, with an ordinary one to blend with the common man
He always liked meeting with children because he believed they are the future of country
“Be active! Take on responsibility! Work for the things you believe in. If you do not, you are surrendering your fate to others.”
“The reality of your own nature should determine your speed. If you become restless, speed up. If you become tense and high-strung, slow down.”
“I strongly believe that teachers need to tell students about great lives and make children understand their history and heritage.”
